PHILADELPHIA – When Kyle Kendrick filled in strongly as a starter for the Phillies during their 102-win season in 2011, it was seen as a trivial bonus for a team that had much bigger and more expensive things going for it in the starting rotation.

When Kyle Kendrick pitched effectively as a starter during the Phillies’ middling, miserable 2012, it was seen as a reason to unload Joe Blanton at the trade deadline and deal Vance Worley in the offseason so the veteran could return to a regular turn in the rotation.

Through six starts this season, Kyle Kendrick not only has fortified that decision as one the Phillies got right, he has been the team’s best starting pitcher – by a lot.

Thursday night, with the Phillies coming home from a couple of humbling thumpings in Cleveland, Kendrick worked seven strong innings and got a big offensive game from Domonic Brown as the Phils (13-16) cruised to a 7-2 win over the brutal Miami Marlins at Citizens Bank Park.

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It was the fifth consecutive quality start from Kendrick (3-1), who worked through a couple of early jams, then powered his way through the later innings as homers by Brown and Ryan Howard put a first-inning run by the Marlins well out of dangerous territory.

Kendrick’s ERA stands at 2.43, which is more than a run better than the next best starter in the Phils’ rotation (Cliff Lee, 3.46). Kendrick has allowed six runs over his last five starts, covering 28 innings – and yes, this was his first shot at a Miami (8-21) team that makes pitchers money every time one has the honor of facing it.

Domonic Brown, using a newfound aggression early in the count, had three hits, including his fourth homer of the season. His two-run single in the bottom of the eighth helped make sure Miami would have no shot at rallying. Howard’s home run, an opposite-field shot that dropped into the flower box in the fourth, put the Phils ahead for good.